Meeting you sucked
by Of heartmates and soulbeats
Summary: So Maka is an Arts Major in uni. What happens when one of the infamous Evans transfers to her university?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater.**

Evans. A surname many girls of all ages attach to their first names in their fantasies. One that would make celebrities seem low class. Even the people who avoid gossip like the plague know it. That's the weight that name carries.

Least to say, when an Evans was going to enrol in XX University the whole country knew about it. Scary, how news travel fast.

Amidst this hustling mass of overenthusiastic humans, a tiny 19-year-old female by the name of Maka Albarn had set off to buy her groceries for the week, paying no mind to the Evans hype that overtook her town. With her trusty ear buds in, and Skrillex bleeding through the little speakers to the area around her, Maka had ensured her interaction with said humans would stay at the bare minimum.

She was kind of in a rush. She had an assignment for Figure Drawing that she hadn't even started on due to a little imagination block. And when I say little, I mean HUGE. The assignment was fairly simple, draw a human of the opposite gender in a pose that says how you feel. The second part she had no trouble in, she was BORED. The thing was she couldn't imagine someone from the opposite gender in a bored position with enough details to draw. Why? Well, because Figure drawings are nudes.

The instructor had told them that they would get best results if they were to get someone to model for them. Up until now, Maka had no need for a model, she could either draw a female body from thought or (when she can't seem to get the proportions right) strip and sit in front of her mirror and draw herself. Super simple.

But not this time. Oh no. Maka had never seen a male fully naked outside her biology books. To be honest, she didn't WANT to see a male naked. No, she doesn't play for the other team. She just knew that males were a bunch of lying, cheating idiots with too much libido for their own good. She knew that from experience, her papa being the grandest example to date in her data base of cheating assholes. Her papa cheated on her mama all the time, and when her mama had had enough, she packed and left, leaving nothing but the paranoid advice to her daughter, warning her about how all men are copies of her papa, and they aren't to be trusted.

This protagonist of ours was too wrapped up in her heated angry thoughts (stupid assignment, stupid instructor, stupid men, stupid papa) before she noticed that it was her turn to check out. Emptying her basket and paying for her purchases, she stepped out to the street and started her journey back to her apartment, this time without music. The crazy beats and her anger were too venomous for her brain to process and she would have ended up with a migraine if she had kept them.

She went back to the limited list of males that had a shred of decency whom she knew. Kid would have been her number one choice if it weren't for a rumour going around that they were what was commonly called "friends with benefits". She didn't want to feed the fire (mainly because Kid seemed to have a crush on a girl called Liz and she didn't want to ruin his chances with her). Her second choice was Havar. He was a VERY level headed guy, he wouldn't think too much of her request but his looks were kind of peculiar (the glasses, the hair, pretty hard to miss), making it kind of obvious who she had drawn.

Ox was a no-no. She hated the guy's guts, despite the fact that she found him to be from the rare breed of men who dedicated themselves to one woman (a girl named Kim, he won't shut up about her). That only left her two choices: Kilk and Black*Star. Kilk had a fan base that followed him everywhere (he was a rather talented boxer and a great basketball player) so he's out of the question.

And then there's Black*Star.

To be frank, he wouldn't go about telling everyone about it because he would understand, he was her childhood friend after all, but seeing him butt naked would traumatize her, because, to her, he was her brother, and one doesn't want to have their brother model for them in the nude.

Things got worse when it started to rain.

Now if you've ever HEARD about deserts you'd know that desert rain meant you'd get drenched faster than you can say OH SHIT.

And that's exactly what happened to her.

I think it's obvious that today wasn't Maka's lucky day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater, Atsushi Okubo does.**

Trudging up the stairs of her apartment building, young Miss Albarn was letting out the colourful side of her vocabulary. Soaked to the skin, angry, and tired, she was more than ready to lodge a book into someone's skull at the smallest tick.

A pissed off Maka is a dangerous Maka.

The rain had stopped by the time she had reached her apartment. She decided to take a shower and do the laundry. Procrastinating never was more productive.

After half an hour of muttered curses, showers, and picking up clothes, she headed to the coin laundry place closest to her, making sure she brought everything with her.

Stepping in, she noticed that she was the only one in there, so she separated her laundry and put each into a washing machine, that way she would be done early. She grabbed her sketchbook and got back to her assignment. Needless to say she failed over and over again. She couldn't get the proportions right. She knew that a guy's hips don't align with their shoulders the way a female's do. She knew that their shoulders were more squared, collar bones were more pronounced, but how much was what she struggled with.

Wrapped in her little bubble of frustration, Maka failed to notice how it was raining on and off. She also missed the fact that she no longer was alone. A drenched young man had come in and he didn't have any clothing with him.

Heaving a sigh that sounded as if the whole world was on her shoulders, she got up and put her washed clothes into the driers and sat back down to wait. She still didn't see the look she got from the other client, nor did she see that he had taken off his shirt which was in one of the smaller washing machines by then.

So you can imagine her shock when she opened her eyes after trying (and failing) to imagine a naked man in a bored position in full glory for the millionth time and saw a shirtless man with a tattoo on his back scrolling through his phone in a way that made smart phones seem like the most boring and outdated things ever.

Without thinking, Maka's hand started drawing the sight before her, working out the details that had vexed her all this time. She drew everything except the tattoo.

The tattoo had given the stranger, with the slanted lighting coming from the front of the store, an other-worldly look. It's funny that a drawing of gothic angel wings on someone's back could make them look so frighteningly not-human.

She moved a bit to the left to get a proper view from behind, and sketched him with his tattoo in full display, drinking in all the detail of it. She took note of some other details, ones that she didn't need to add in her assignment.

The man was an albino. However, unlike what is usually expected for an albino, his body seemed healthy if a little too pale. She wished she had packed her colours with her, but had to make do with her sketching pencils.

He startled her when he got up to take out his shirt, and she quickly stuffed away her sketchbook and pencils and got up to take her stuff, too. It was done ten minutes ago but she was so focused on drawing the specimen in front of her to take note of it.

Putting her clothes in her basket, she was glad to see that the sky was clear. 'Finally' she thought 'my day is finally changing for the better'.

Not.

You see, unlike our heroine, the young man had noticed her acting strange, had seen her looking back and forth between him and her sketchbook as if her life depended on it. He'd heard all the scribbles that she started with, and noticed when her pace slowed. He even stole some glances at her when she was too immersed in her drawing to pay attention. She was an odd little thing, he thought, petite and of delicate stature. She had her hair in pigtails, which gave her a childish look, but the way she held herself hinted at her maturity. And although her body seemed to be fragile, the amount of clothes that girl carried without breaking a sweat was mind-blowing.

What he thought was her best feature were her eyes. Nice and big, and as green as clovers.

He wanted to see her drawings, after all, he knew he was in at least one of them.

However, when they were about to leave, both acted as if they didn't even notice that the other existed.

These kitties are such a hassle, right?

Now, back to our female object of interest. She was preparing dinner, her head bobbing to the music playing from the speakers of her phone. This session featured W&W. Maka was in a good mood. She had finished her assignment, she did all her chores, AND she got to draw something really good. Nothing could rain on her parade.

Tomorrow will be a good day.

At 2:00 pm the next day, a happy Albarn was leaving from her last lecture, feeling light as a feather. The instructor had praised her drawing, and praised her for her imagination (this made her feel a bit guilty, but she didn't try to correct him). And at night, the local radio station is going to air Above and Beyond's live radio show, and there was a book signing at the local bookstore this weekend.

Too bad that she's the lead of this story, otherwise her days would have gone on in the same happy-go-lucky way they are right now. Naturally, every main character has to meet an obstacle on their journey in the story. Here is where Maka Albarn's obstacle makes its grand appearance.

Or should I say his grand appearance?

She had reached the campus gates when she saw what looked like a mob of people blocking the way. Nasty loud screams of "Kyaa!" "So cool!" were the BGM of this scene. It simply made Maka's eye twitch.

Suddenly, the load sound of a motorcycle cut through the noise, and the star-eyed crowd split like the red sea.

Maka took this as her cue to slip out of the gates. She could guess the cause of the commotion. It must be the Evans boy that attended the music program in her university. She had managed to escape the hype for four months, avoiding the places anyone from the music program would go as if it's been quarantined. She even stopped buying her favourite magazine when it started publishing things about the Evans family's history. She didn't want to know about it, it's just that simple.

She didn't want to hear about the drama, the rumours, all the crazy fans, and, although she came from a well off family of talented artists herself, she didn't want to "mix and mingle" with the celebrities of other fields.

Actually, this would be the first time she would see what this guy looked like. It'd probably help her avoid him even in the future.

That was what going through her brain while she was cutting through the admirers. Yet, when she finally got to breathe some fresh air, she met a horrifyingly (well, it is in her case) familiar scene.

The coin laundry guy was riding on a bike, looking just as bored as he was the other day, the screaming fans staring at him with dazed eyes.

It took her brain a few extra seconds to process what she saw correctly. Stunned as she was, she couldn't help but stare intensely, the way her eyes expanded making her already large eyes seem like two bottle glass windows in her skull. It made her easy to spot.

And spot her is what the Evans coin laundry guy did. And for the first time she saw him show an expression other than boredom, recognition and surprise written all over his face.

And so, their eyes met.

And Maka's life decided to go down a rocky road.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: XX University** **is an obscure name because Shibusen obviously doesn't work here. Sorry for any misunderstandings.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater.**

To say that Maka became an expert at hide and seek that day would be an understatement.

The coin laundry guy, whose name she now knew was Soul Evans (thank you Wikipedia), had persistently tried to follow her while she tried to lose him on foot. She had tried every corner and turn possible, joined every crowd she passed, even walked through the back allies that looked too suspicious even in the brightness of day. She tried to console herself with the fact that she now knew the area better.

Simply put, Maka was an optimist.

But her optimism was lost on her when she was met with a mob at the front of her apartment building the next day.

Did I mention that they were fully armed with high-end cameras and voice recorders, and that they looked like they had camped there the entire night? No? My bad, I guess.

They say: "Never corner an Albarn".

It seems like it wasn't an empty warning.

As soon as she was the paparazzi through her window, her phone appeared in her hand, and, in a flash, she dialled the number of the chief of police. She was going to get rid of the media hyenas from the start. It was the entire point of forcing her papa to keep the fact that she's studying in XX University under wraps. She didn't want to be in the spotlight before she deserved to. She didn't want to be known for her surname, she wanted her own glory.

After a few rings and Chief Sid picked up. After stating her situation to him, he said that he will make sure to get rid of them, assuring her that no-one will bother her. He was a friend of her father's and he was in on the deed. For the first time, she was glad that her father had insisted to keep someone that knew around.

By the time she was at the apartment door, most of the paparazzi had left, and the rest were packing while grumbling about confusing names and wasted time. Stepping out, she gave Chief Sid a smile, to which he returned a nod, and then got on her way to university. She knew that when she got there, she'll be getting too much attention for her liking, but nothing a few words in public and keeping her distance couldn't fix. She'll get over that one easily.

Our male lead begs to differ.

He had been shocked beyond comprehension when he saw her at the gate. He his feelings were mutual because her eyes were about to fall out of their sockets. But as soon as his mouth regained its function to call out a loud "Hey!" she was already back on her way out, her legs moving briskly against the pavement. He tried to follow her after that, but he kept losing her until he was almost sure he was lost.

Why would he follow her you ask? Well, it's obviously not because of a romantic reason, he was just curious. Why was she drawing him? Why was she in the crowd of annoying fans? Was she one of them? (He hoped against hope that she wasn't, she hadn't seemed the type) Who was she?

It took a while for him to realize that following a girl because she seemed like she was drawing you a few days ago was not cool in any form of the word. It made him seem desperate.

So the next day, he waited at the same gate from yesterday, wearing his hood up so that less people will notice him. It worked since he didn't seem out of place, just some dude with his hood up against the cold, scrolling through his phone, obviously waiting for someone because he kept glancing at the university gate. Nothing new.

He saw her coming from far away, and decided that it'd be better if they talked outside campus, since there was a chance she would try to avoid him by saying that she spotted a friend and walk away, and he'd lose his chance to talk to her.

Walking up to her, she seemed to notice him and she grew stiff.

Maka thought over her options quickly, she could either talk to him right now, make it clear that she wanted him to keep his distance because she didn't want trouble, or she could pretend she doesn't know him.

As tempting as her second option sounded, she decided against it. She needed to get this guy's existence out of her life so that she can get back to her busy life as a university student who aims for the top.

She was just about to open her mouth to speak, he cut her off with a rather low "Hey".

Her reply was out too quickly. A small "Hey" just like his.

However the greeting tied their tongues, and an odd silence fell on them.

Ah, they were talking again. A small relay of asking for names, majors, simply stating the fact that they saw each other two days ago at the coin laundry place.

"Yeah, I saw you there." Soul started, "You were drawing like no tomorrow"

"Ah, yeah, I had an assignment that day" she replied, guilt making her avoid his eyes. What if he had somehow noticed that she was drawing him? What if he didn't want to be drawn?

"Really? What was it?" He saw her look to the side, was she trying to hide something? Maybe she was worried about him knowing that she drew him. He fed her reaction to his theory. He's almost sure he's right by now.

"Oh, I had to draw someone in a bored position" she left out the part about the gender. Maybe she should just tell him already, see if he's upset about it, apologize either way, and get on her way to her first lecture because although she came early, it takes time to get ready for it. Funny thing, her first lecture today was Figure Drawing, so it's going to be a while before she can just drop the matter.

Summoning the courage needed for the task, she dropped the bomb-shell.

"I think you should know, back then, I was drawing you." Okay, that gave out the wrong message.

At the sight of Soul's wide eyes, she decide she should quickly clarify.

"I was going through an imagination block, so I decided to draw from real life. You just happened to be there. I didn't draw in your face or anything, so I assure you that no one will know that it's you. I'm sorry that I did it without your permission. I know you're angry but I don't want any trouble. I don't want anyone to know about what had happened, and I'm sure you share my opinion. Therefore, I'd like you to pretend that nothing happened. Again I am sorry for the inconvenience." The words had spilled from her mouth the way the beads spill from a necklace, and she found herself rambling. After finishing her longest apology to date, she took a step back, muttered a goodbye, and walked past the man who had to endure said apology, hurrying to her lecture which would start in five minutes.

Yet again, Soul found himself left behind while she walked away. He was right, she had drawn him. He wanted to see it. She's barely allowing him to interact with her (her asking for his name and major meant nothing, it was obvious she already knew) and he was only getting more curious.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater.**

Every one of us must have dreamt of making the first page of the news, being swarmed by the paparazzi, and having fans topple over their feet trying to get close. Even Maka.

However, she doesn't like it when her father makes the news.

The reason behind that is that her papa is the scandalous type of celebrities. Sure, he's a very talented abstract artist, whose paintings sell well beyond a million apiece, but he also was a silver-tongued womanizer, over whom woman toppled like an avalanche on a cliff. More times than not, her papa's nightly escapades were featured in the latest editions, with plenty of pictures of him with his "entertainer" for the night. To be frank, Maka found him a source of embarrassment more than anything else.

So it's easy to guess her reaction when she passed the newsstand and found out about how her papa had spent the night after his latest gallery.

Her sour mood exacerbated when she got to Uni. All the loyal Evans fans were climbing over each other to interrogate her about her relationship with Soul. When her head could take no more abuse, She yelled at the fans in her most eloquent way to shut the hell up and leave her alone because all that is between her and silver spikes was the fact that they went to the same Laundromat.

And for the second time in the same week, Maka was angry enough to skewer whoever did so much as talk to her.

Wow, anti-social much?

I'm glad I'm the narrator, or else the Maka-Chop (The name that Maka dubbed her favourite move) that that comment would have earned me would have resulted in hospitalization and possible death.

Let's just say that many people that day had suffered from a similar fate; I'd like to keep this as gore-free as possible.

Her mood didn't change even after a visit to her favourite relaxation spot, a nice coffee shop/library hybrid called DeathBucks. You go in, get your preferred beverage, and you can just pick up whatever book you want while you're in there, or, with a little bit of cash, you borrow said book for a specified duration. All in all the place was known as a heaven for studying, relaxation, and bookworms.

And not even that lifted her mood.

First silver spikes plays cat and mouse with her for an entire afternoon, then said chase cause the paparazzi to come after her, then she had to deal with the man himself, and the first thing she sees when she wakes up is her papa's pictures plastered all over the gossip magazines making out with a hooker, add in the fans of silver spikes into the equation and you have yourself a very unhappy 19 year old girl.

Oh, and did I mention that she's been running into him too many times for her comfort?

At the food court, in the music shop across from DeathBucks, in the dairy aisle at the grocery, he was EVERYWHERE. However, it didn't seem like he was going out of his way to stalk her, it was perfectly reasonable for him to be around, Death City isn't that huge. Plus, all the places that she'd seen him in were kind of expected of him to visit (Music store? Music major. Food court? With his friends. The supermarket? The dude has to eat something, right?).

Maybe it was because Maka hadn't known how he looked before that she never noticed him. Maybe because she was too busy shutting out the annoying people that she found his existence very odd. A lot of maybes could be put to that topic, but none would solve her latest predicament.

How did she end up hiding in a dark alley with him, waiting for a bunch of crazed fans to pass them?

Maybe I should backtrack a little, nothing would make sense if I didn't.

Confusing the hell out of my readers is not the man I was.

So let's go back to the day when Maka's mood was so foul, you could smell it five streets away.

The fact that a white blob kept popping up in periphery vision had done nothing good to her out-of-season PMS episode, and our dear Albarn was wearing thin on any form of patience towards anything that moved. However, plagued by the ever-constant presence of a certain rich-boy, Maka's sole outlet (sleep) had started to elude her. She really wanted to say he was stalking her, but she had never even paid attention to her surroundings enough to say that he wasn't there all the time before.

In hope of finding a different outlet, the next afternoon while out with her friends, she asked Tsubaki, a transfer student from Japan and her best friend, if she had any good ideas. Coming up short, she directed her question to the Thompson sisters, who responded with a suggestion of getting herself laid. She politely shot down the suggestion before it festered into something awful. In the end, she decided that desperate times called for desperate measures.

She called Black*Star.

The words were barely past her lips when Black*Star told her that he'll be there in fifteen minutes with all the equipment they need for her to unwind before hanging up abruptly.

Fifteen minutes later, and Black*Star was in her living room setting up his gaming console while she inspected what he had filled her fridge with.

Twenty eight bottles of mixed liquor greeted her cheerfully.

She decided not to question anything; she already knew alcohol would be a huge part of Black*Star's plans. That much was very obvious.

At least, they were going to stay home.

Now, ya'll must be wondering, how does this build up to the two main leads being chased by a mob of people?

Let's just say that Maka and Black*Star decided to take their activity to the streets.

And their plans had changed from get pissed drunk while playing the latest gory shooting game to let's find the cause of Maka's trouble and beat the shit out of him.

Namely a white haired male by the name of Soul Evans.

He wasn't that hard to find.

Too bad drunk plans don't work too well, maybe she wouldn't have ended in the mess she was in a few days later.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.**

 **A/N: terribly sorry for the late update, words eluded me like Atlantis eludes its believers. I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

If you were allowed to do anything to Soul Evans, what would you do?

That question was in the same magazine whose cover sported the picture of a very drunk Spirit Albarn.

If I were to direct the question to the brilliant SE fandom, the world would end and they would still have things to do with him.

But with Maka, it was simple; draw him like them French girls, or bash his head in just for existing.

She didn't hold any resentment towards the young man, she didn't know him; she can't go all judgmental on his ass. He hadn't offended her, hadn't shown her anything that should upset her. She knew that deep down she's being a judgmental bitch of a drama queen. She knew that the fact that she was shoved slightly towards the spot light wasn't worth all the anger that bubbled through her.

If asked about it, she'd most likely reply that she finds him the epitome of annoying.

But she was blowing everything out of proportions, and it was obvious.

To explain, Young Miss Albarn handles crushes like a little boy would.

And what happens when a very tipsy Maka meets the object of her "affection"? Why, use her papa's silver tongue on him and give him bedroom eyes, because that's how Albarns do it.

Said object of "affection" had been peacefully sitting on a bench in the park, trying to clear his head from all the crap he's been going through, when an all too loud "Ya-hoo!" followed by a battle cry jolted him from his seat.

A rather loud "oomph" rang through the empty space.

After registering the fact that the girl from a couple of days ago was straddling him, his eyes widened as his nostrils were attacked by the unmistakable stench of alcohol. And as if to add a cherry on top, she had started spewing some very seductive and tempting words that dripped off her tongue like honey.

He was shocked by how he was holding without his nose bursting with all the blood in his body.

And then she started kissing him.

And he swears he saw the light.

Let's shed some light on some of the finer details of that night.

While The Black*Star party were getting drunk off of their asses, Tsubaki (currently Black*Star's girlfriend who lives with him) noticed that her boyfriend had forgotten his cell phone. Ever the considerate person, she tries to call her best friend because that's where he said he'll be.

When Maka answered her phone, her garbled words and their even more garbled plan set off all the possible alerts in Tsubaki's head. And suddenly, her head was filled with all the possible headlines if they go through with it. Shuddering at her own ideas, she shoved the expected gossip out of her thoughts and proceeded to call the rest of their friends, asking for help controlling the two rampaging drunks before they get arrested.

Two hours of frantically searching for the duo later, the Tsubaki party received a call from Chief Sid. He informed them that he had found Black*Star and that they should send someone to pick up him up.

After interrogating the now-sober poor sod (Tsubaki has her ways), they found out that Maka had went home with someone and left her phone with Black*Star. Try as hard as he might, Black*Star couldn't remember why he wasn't with Maka and who was it that took her home. They tried calling her apartment landline, greeted by voicemail whenever they tried.

Meanwhile, a very disgruntled Soul was walking a very giggly Maka to her apartment. Apparently, despite her currently intoxicated state, she was still able to give him directions to her apartment. In the span of a few minutes, they stood in front of her apartment complex.

Fumbling between supporting her and her keys, they got past her door only to be met by her landline ringing for the umpteenth time. Since his assailant was in no shape to take phone calls, he picked up.

On the other side of the call, hope infected the worried group of friends.

"Maka?" Tsubaki's shaky voice reverberated through the speaker.

"Ah, Hello. She's here but I don't think she's in any shape to be taking in phone calls. Who is this?" Soul wanted to further explain the situation to the obviously worried female on the line, but his wary nature held him back.

"We should be the ones asking that! And tell us what's with Maka!" Liz's fuse caught fire when she heard the almost careless drawl that the stranger had used. She had snagged the phone from Tsubaki and put the call on speaker so that everyone could pitch in.

"Other than the fact that she's drunk beyond oblivion, she's currently knocked out on her couch. I take it that you are her friends?" the formal tone slipped his tongue before he could hold it back, damned manners.

"Yes, we are. And you would be?" Kid intervened before Liz could lash out at the man on the phone

"The one who walked her home, obviously." He wasn't stupid, his name would make an uproar; he's not going to let it out that easily. "Look, could you send someone to take care of her? It seems like she lives alone and she's going to desperately need help by the time she wakes up. I also would like to leave sometime soon, I have business to attend to." Sure, he was curious as to who her friend were, but she had sounded so upset about people talking about them that he doesn't want to cause her anymore trouble by stirring up rumours. Plus he had an exam tomorrow, and he had been cramming for a day and a half now and he desperately needed sleep.

"You gonna give us yer name, Mr Phone-Stranger?" Patty's past in delinquency more pronounced than ever in her tone.

Shrugging in a nervous way, Soul figured that they won't let it rest until he gives them one.

"I'm Soul." Thinking on his feet, he blurted out his old nickname that his brother had given him when they were young. "Eater. Soul Eater"

He could hear the joined murmurs of "what kind of name is that?" on the other side before the woman that had spoken first decided to wrap things up.

"Thank you for taking care of her Mr Eater. We'll be there shortly." Her voice was polite, but the suspicion the named caused was clear. A rather familiar voice then added a venomous "feel free to leave before I get there", and a few seconds after hanging up (or rather having the phone hung up in his face) he traced the voice to the man who was with Maka when they attacked him. He had a ridiculous name that somehow nagged at him yet he couldn't remember.

Tired and drained from his encounter with the female now murmuring something about books and radio shows, he let his body drop on the single armchair in the small apartment. He'd definitely stay and wait. He needed to elaborate things to make sure that nothing gets out because one of them would surely be able to trace the name to him and then shit hits the fan.

He's good at critical thinking, ain't he? He isn't good at staying awake, though.

Shit hit the fan either way, because when he woke up and opened the door to the furious knocking he found himself surrounded by five people with eyes so wide they could have popped and a rather flabbergasted landlord.

When his mind had finally caught up with the world around him, he found that he was being interrogated by the Thompson duo, and that the landlord had left long ago, but not before it was obvious that she realized who had been staying at her tenant's apartment. And he had actually tried not to get his ass in more trouble by staying to properly settle the situation with her friends. What had he done to deserve this at (a quick glance at the clock) three in the morning? Nice, he only got about an hour and a half of sleep. His exam was at eight. Maybe if he wraps things up quickly he could get three more hours of sleep.

He told the entire party the whole story, wishing for a bed to just sleep in all the while. When they were sure that he hadn't done anything to Maka, he addressed the fact that the landlord must have started dishing the juicy gossip material she got hold of, most likely misunderstanding the entire ordeal, and how Maka had asked him to not to approach her in public to avoid any misunderstandings.

A few hours into the day, the whole city had heard (a heavily abridged version of) the incident. He couldn't complain, since, with the help of the Thompson sister's network, they were able to create said abridged version, omitting certain details (Maka and Black*Star being drunk, Maka attacking/sexually assaulting Soul) and adding others (acceptable background for their "intimacy"; a strictly friends-only relationship). At least, no one's going to jail.

But that doesn't mean that they were safe.

That's where we left off last time.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Another late update. I hope I don't make this a habit! Sorry guys, cram school hit me hard. Who knew Calculus was so hard? (being sarcastic here) Hope I didn't make you wait for long, enjoy the chapter! X3**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater.**

In a dark alley just a little way off from the local library, there stood a pair of panting university students.

In an M rated story, this would mean that our mains were doing naughty things. Aren't you all disappointed that this is T rated?

But nonetheless, that was the situation our hero and heroine found themselves in after a night of getting drunk (for the female) and cramming for an exam that happened to be postponed (for the male). Soul was beyond pissed.

He wanted to sleep. There isn't a thing in the world he wouldn't give to have a king-sized bed and a few days off right there and then. When they explained the matter to Maka when she woke up, she had apologized profusely while taking it upon herself to surpass tomatoes in redness. She agreed to go along with the rumour they had whipped up, saying that they were only friends and that they were waiting for the rest when they both passed out on the soft furniture.

All had went well until he got to university for his lectures and exam.

After finding out that the exam he had almost knocked himself out while studying for was postponed, his anger-o-meter shot up beyond its healthy levels when he saw a bunch of the pests that followed him around waiting for him expectantly. Was it their job to make his already bad mood worse? It couldn't be that hard to stay away from him, he was anti-social to everyone (pig-tailed 19-year-old females excluded), so he couldn't fathom how anyone would want his company, not when he refused theirs all the time.

He plugged in his headphones and made sure the volume was loud enough to block out a stampede; he couldn't deal with all of this shit, not after a couple of sleepless nights, one gruelling interrogation, a morning spent spreading false rumours about himself (it still sounds so wrong in his head), topped off with the happy (note the sarcasm) news he had just received.

With Apocalyptica's cover of Metallica's "One" making itself known to the public through his head gear, Soul had no chance to escape Maka when she made a grab for him and started pulling him while she went on running. Confused as hell, he took off his headphones, and his ears were met with the unmistakable sound of an actual stampede. Fearing for his life, Soul picked up his pace and ran neck to neck with Maka, out of the faculty, out of campus, and onto the streets.

Maka then lead the way to a particularly well hidden back street where they stood panting and gasping for much-needed oxygen.

"So," Soul spoke up as soon as his ability to breathe normally was restored, "Care to explain?"

She glared in reply; Maka was still out of breath, having run for a longer time than him.

"Why the hell did you drag me along?"

Maka took a painfully long breath and let it out slowly, trying to get her erratic heartbeat to calm the hell down. "Why did you lie to me?"

The confused look on his face looked far too comical, in my opinion. It's a real shame Maka was really angry then.

"The rumour, you said that you guys made it so we are just friends. Why in the name of all that is unholy are your fangirls accusing me of seducing you?"

He looked like he had been slapped across the face. Speechless wouldn't even start to define his state.

"Care to explain?" she threw his own words right back at him.

"By the look on your face, I'm guessing you had no idea." Maka nodded, kicking the gravel to take out her frustration, "I'm gonna KILL Patty and Liz when I see them! I'm gonna Maka-chop them so hard that they'll fall into a coma. It's one thing to give suggestions about my love life, but to actually set me up with some guy out of the blue just because they got the chance to is unforgivable!"

Taking another deep breath, she checked if the coast was clear and then motioned him to follow her. She maneuvered through the backstreets connected to the one they were in, trying to get them back to campus with the least amount of exposure. When they were well into the third lane, Maka's ringtone assaulted his ears. It was loud. And hyper. And if she doesn't pick up in the next five seconds he's going to suffer from internal bleeding.

Luckily for him, she did. And when she did, all of hell broke loose.

Maybe he wasn't so lucky after all.

As soon as she answered, she was interrupted by a frighteningly serious Liz, telling her to avoid going back to campus at all costs for the day. Repeating her warning again, she started to explain the situation to her.

Somehow, the rumour had mutated with the simple addition of air-quotations around the words "only friends".

It's a shame that false news travel fast.

So while Liz was frantically trying to contain this mess and fix it, they were ordered to lay low and stay out of sight. There was a possibility that Soul might have to start hanging out with them to dissipate any doubts left in the public's hearts about them, but Liz said she'll try her best to avoid that case since she knew Maka hated the limelight, and bringing a celebrity into the mix wasn't going to help her stay out of it.

But hanging out with one for an entire day and trying to stay out of sight totally would, because that's how logic works.

They kept to the back streets for a few hours, either messing with their phones, staring at the walls surrounding them, or changing their spot to change the scenery, although it didn't much. The atmosphere was too awkward for even a simple chat. How DO you talk to someone you tried to [drunkenly] seduce last night? Factor in the fact that she may have a tiny, tiny, suuuper tiny crush on this dude she barely knows but finds oddly attractive and all verbal skills she may have learnt in her life become useless.

While Maka's mind formulated more ways to torture her with all the awkwardness and humiliation, Soul's mind was going through a very fierce battle of wills.

He wanted to see her drawing, he wanted to talk to her, he wanted to get to know her, and many other friendly things you would expect to crave if you want to become friends with someone. However, last night had ignited something in him, and exploiting the ideas and wants going through his brain right now would surely start a nosebleed of epic proportions. One that wouldn't stop unless he passed out, or died of blood loss. Whichever came first.

He decided to make a mental checklist.

Talk to Maka

Ask her if he could see the drawing

Praise her drawing ability (even if he doesn't like it)

hang out together sometime later

He excluded the rest of his ideas from the list, he seriously needed to keep them strictly PG.

Revving up the motor of his conversational skills, he was just about to start on the first list item when Maka's phone rang again, that nasty ringtone bullying his facial expression into a pained one. He really hoped her musical taste wasn't that awful and that it was just a stupid ringtone. She could be anything in the world but not have an abysmal taste in music, he doesn't know how he'd take that.

I can tell you from now that Soul doesn't appreciate Trance and Dubstep.

But back to Maka. This time she was talking to Kid, who was assuring her that they've controlled the situation but that they'd have to make Soul join the gang to make their words more concrete. Before he hung up he made sure to tell her that campus was green and that they come back for their afternoon lectures, preferably separately.

She relayed the message to Soul and told him about their little predicament with the group. He shrugged in response.

She also warned him about Sundays and Saturdays. Whenever a Sunday/Saturday and good weather hooked up, the gang would go out to the basketball courts for a heated match. The weather forecast that day had given her a heads up that the weather will be nice next week, so she felt obligated to tell him so. He said that he'll try his best to come, since he was busy after four on both days.

And so Soul had one item to cross off his list.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Okay! Short chapter up ahead! But also double update expected! That is all, enjoy the chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater**.

What Maka hadn't warned Soul about was the group's "Initiation".

In her defence, how could she have known? She'd never heard of that bullshit until the whole 'Soul Incident'.

Black*Star said that it's a safety measurement to keep out the pests. I think it's quite clear who came up with that idea, right?

He even made a "Rules and Regulations" paper. Guess being a Business major is starting to get to him.

What REALLY shocked Maka was that Soul agreed to that crap. Sure she didn't know the dude but from what she heard he leaned more to the antisocial/lone wolf/cooler-than-thou side. But from her position, she knew first-hand that rumours and hear-say aren't a very good source for info. Not when what she's seeing is almost the complete opposite of them.

Unbeknownst to her, Soul was in this for the girl. If she turned out to be just another flower in the garden, a dime a dozen, he could simply withdraw and keep his distance. It wasn't wise to cut off all connection though; acquaintances are very important, his parents made sure he knew that, especially because he rarely ever associates with anyone. He could make use of them later then.

Lucky for them, the weather forecast said that the following fortnight would be warm above the average for that time of the year. That would mean the gang would get together on Saturday and do the official meetings, 'get-to-know-you's and such.

So, on Saturday, Black*Star shoved the freshly printed "Rules and Regulations" of the gang's "Initiation" in Soul's face. To Maka, the fact that they called their friends their "gang" and that now they have an initiation for newbies sounded like they were a bunch of wannabe Mafiosi.

Black*Star read them off to the rest from his own copy of the paper. Let me spare you the HUGE amount of uppercase letters; here's what the paper read:

Initiation to the Misfit Gang

Rules and Regulations:

Sunday/Saturday Basketball matches are a MUST

The initiation is one week long [or eight days, depends on the weather]. It starts after the get-to-know-you period.

On each day of the week (or eight days), the one seeking initiation has to appeal to the gang member assigned to that day by spending "Special Bonding Time" with them.

The members are assigned to days in the following order:

Black*Star

Kid

Patty

Liz

Tsubaki

Maka

Crona

I haven't mentioned the fellow prior to this moment because of his weak presence, but Crona's a High school friend of Maka's. They both were part of the literature club, then Maka introduced him to the rest and soon he was part of their gang.

"And today, we'll do the introductions! I am your worshipped Black*Star of the Hoshi Clan! Business major!" Black*Star lowered his voice for this and directed himself to face Soul, expecting him to be all starry eyed like an awestruck follower.

"Worshipped? What are you, a god?" Soul couldn't help but scoff at him. The dude tackled him to the ground and watched as his friend sexually assaulted him. In his opinion, anything he does to him is justified.

"A God? I like the sound of that!"

Soul really wanted to face palm. Apparently this one's an idiot with a huge ego.

Kid stood forward and introduced himself in an orderly fashion, Azrael Mort Jr. [aka: Death the Kid, or Kid for short] Architecture major. Soul nodded in acknowledgment.

Soul already met the Thompson Sisters before [They're quite popular], but the introduced themselves nonetheless. Patricia and Elizabeth Thompson, both Design major.

The female on who called Maka's place turned out to be a Japanese girl named Tsubaki, an Art major student like Maka.

Last was Crona.

"M-My name is Crona Gorgon, ah no, I meant Crona Stein! P-Pleased to meet y-you!" Professor Franken Stein, their old biology teacher from school, had recently adopted Crona shortly after his marriage to the school counsellor, Marie Mjolnir. "Ah! I'm a Literature major!"

"Right!" Black*star piped up, "You already know Maka, so there's no need for introductions. Now it's your turn."

Taking a deep breath, Soul introduced himself properly this time. "Soul Evans, Music Major. Nice to meet you all."

"Okay then, Soul" Black*Star began, picking up the basketball from the ground "Think fast!" he tossed the ball quickly but Soul caught it.

"Oh, you're not bad! I call dibs on the newbie! You're gonna be on my team!" He said and then they started to split up into teams.

A few hours of playing ball later, it was 3:30 in the afternoon and Soul tossed in the towel, explaining that he had a prior appointment at four.

Back at his apartment, Soul thought back at his time at the basketball court. It turns out Maka sucks at Basketball, and believe it or not, he got along with that 'Star dude really well. That kid Crona was stronger than what he let on, and although Kid seemed too formal, he's pretty cool when he lets loose. The Thompsons were not bad, especially the older one, Liz, she has a good taste in music. Oh and that girl, Tsubaki, she's fierce on the court despite her appearance. All in all, they seemed like a fun bunch.

They'd exchanged phone numbers before he left. Tomorrow, the initiation to their "gang", as they call it, starts. So, Tomorrow, he has to spend a day with Black*Star.

That didn't sound too bad to him.

He was kind of out of it when his eyes fell on the clock by his bedside. Damn, he was late.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Double release as promised! (two updates in less than 24 hours)Yay! Hurray for pent up energy (that I was forced to waste going on the longest run I've been on since eighth grade). Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater.**

Soul looked forward to Friday like a kid would to a field trip. Every hour, he'd look at the clock as if asking it "are we there yet?" Every day, when he'd wake up and look at the calendar hopefully. Of course, he wouldn't admit to doing something so "uncool" but that doesn't change the fact that he did do it.

He'd went through Sunday, spending the day with 'Star at the gang's favourite burger joint doing the local eating challenge; two burgers with one pound patties, three types of cheese, all the toppings, two pounds of fries, a side of coleslaw, and a quart of extra creamy strawberry milkshake (He won). He passed through Monday, hanging out with Kid at DeathBucks talking about their tastes in furniture, rooms, and their ideal home (it was Kid's idea). He had an adrenaline rush on Tuesday, having gone with Patty to the amusement park in the next town (she made him skip Music Theory to go there). Wednesday was chill. Liz and he hit the local Jazz club for dinner and the performance (turns out Death City had a thriving underground and indie Jazz scene).

And finally, Thursday came. He was supposed to spend the day with Tsubaki at her apartment (apparently, she's Black*Star's girlfriend, and they're living together). At first, they didn't know what they should do for the day, but then they settled on talking over a cup of tea. He was interested in the Japanese culture, both old and modern alike, so that gave them something to discuss.

All of that must sound like fun. It was, really, he won't deny that he enjoyed the company but there was one person who he wished to spend time with, and that person was Maka.

He was just about to ask her about honorifics when Black*Star decided that Soul had spent "too much quality time with his babe". Mentally marking the question to ask later, he thanked her for her hospitality. He knew about how the Japanese revered manners, and quite frankly she seemed like a very nice, mature person; it couldn't harm to be on good terms with her.

So he headed home, still thinking about what tomorrow would bring. It was eight pm but Maka still hadn't decided what they were going to do. Would they end up staying at her apartment and talking? If things weren't awkward between them in the first place, they sure would be now. He hadn't seen her since Saturday, she had seemed normal on that day. She was on the opposing team, so he couldn't talk to her much.

They should decide early on, so that they could make the most out of their day together. He pulled out his phone and texted her.

'Yo Maka. What're we going to do tomorrow?'

He waited for a couple of minutes before she replied.

'Hey! Actually, I'm rather busy tomorrow. Mind if I switch days with Crona?'

Disappointment invaded his system, hi-jacking all his senses for a few moments. He felt like a kid who just found out that Santa doesn't exist. The scowl that marred his features was set in so deep that for a moment he actually looked the age his hair colour implied.

Sighing in defeat, he sent a quick 'Not at all' and locked his phone.

Well, guess he'll have to wait another 24 hours to ask the same question.

Around twelve hours later, Soul and Crona were sitting at a table in the university cafeteria having a random "I like, you like" discussion. Soul was kind of shocked that the kid didn't have a panic attack and was actually conversing with him normally. He seemed too jittery for anything much.

"So, do you like video games?" Soul asked. If he didn't do anything, Crona wouldn't dare even breathe, he knew. He was just too shy for his own good.

"Video games? I-I never played those, momm- I mean Mother never allowed me to" The pink-haired boy seemed rather scared of his mother. Patty had told him that Crona was adopted, perhaps he had gone through physical abuse? Neglect? Whatever it was, this guy's childhood didn't seem like the brightest part in his history. He waited for Crona to go on, but the latter looked like he'd said something wrong. Bah, Soul fit in the dark better than the light anyway. If the dude ever wanted to talk about it, he didn't think he'd mind listening to him. For now he wasn't going to pressure him to say anything.

Under that thick hide of toughness and cool, lay a very, very mushy softie, but let's keep this a secret between us, okay? I don't want to end up mugged in a dark alley in the dead of the night without anyone to call for. Like he said, acquaintances are important because they're useful. And he can be very cruel when he wants to.

"Well, wanna try them out? I've got a console at my apartment, I can teach you how to play and you'll know whether you like them or not" Soul made sure he said this in the coolest way he could, adding in a casual shrug for added effect.

"Eh? Go to your apartment just like th-that? I can't! I-it's rude! Miss Marie said so!" Crona shook his head so hard it looked like it might fall off his shoulders. Then he suddenly stopped and added a rather low "I really want to, but . . . but Miss Marie told me to never be rude; so I can't, not before we become better f-friends?" he said the end like a question, as if asking his fellow odd-haired companion whether he want to be friends with him.

The way he questioned his relationships with people made something click in Soul's mind, and then an idea presented itself in his mind. This one must have been put down all his life. Words like 'worthless', 'useless', and 'second-rate' filtered through his brain. Although, these had been aimed at him, not his troubled friend. He closed his eyes and shook his head roughly, wishing he could just carry all these memories and toss them into the sand.

"Of course, why am I here Crona?"

Cool guys don't dwell on the past.

Not theirs at least.

"Then what about the arcade?" he gave it another shot, maybe he might be able to drag the dude with him to arcades instead.

Crona's eyes lit up a bit. "The a-arcade? Y-you sure want to go with me?"

He gave him a smile (The kid's growing in on him) and a short nod.

By the time they left the arcade, it was eight o'clock again.

Huh, turns out 24 hours had passed quicker than he had thought.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: *begs for forgiveness* I am terribly sorry for the late update; I've just been too down in the dumps. Not a good excuse, but it's all I have. Again, my deepest apologies. Enjoy the chapter.**

 **I ALSO NEED TO THANK ALL OF YOU AWESOME PEOPLE! I just reached a total of 20 followers and I got more than 15 reviews. I love you people. Thank you for your support!** **Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.**

The past 24 hours have been HELL.

Well, for Maka Albarn that is.

Not that she had any hopes of it being better, but she has to let off some steam, y'know?

She's been through one of her worst days in a couple of years now. She was late for her early morning lecture, her hair looked like it had been to hell and back, she has another daunting Figure Drawing assignment, dead week was just a few days later, and who would happen to show up at her doorstep other than her idiot papa?

He had been planning on getting back into her good graces after his latest shameful act. He had the chance of a snowflake in hell.

Her father had almost harassed her to have dinner with him. She eventually caved in to his request for the sole reason that she had yet to get her groceries for the week. After dinner, her father claimed that he had a present for her and that made her suspicious; he gave her presents whenever he could but not without a reason because he knows that she wouldn't even consider accepting it.

He suddenly produced a box with holes in its sides (Where he kept it and how he kept it there was a mystery to her that she wasn't keen on figuring out). At the sudden movement the thing in the box jolted and meowed.

He'd brought her a cat.

Well, more like a kitten. She took the poor creature out of her father's grasp and opened the box. Normally, she wouldn't want anything her father bought her out of the blue, but she'd wanted a pet since she was a kid although she couldn't have one; her mother was allergic to shed fur. She's been meaning to adopt a pet ever since she moved out two years ago, but never got to; with furniture and appliances eating up her cash when she first got her apartment, and, later on, Uni taking up all the of her spare time.

As soon as she got over her initial joy at the gift, she eyed her old man suspiciously. He wouldn't go this far to get back into her good graces after a hook up, so what had he done this time?

"Alright" He should start to explain his reason for his unprecedented action.

Maka was busy thinking up a name for that cat that she didn't notice the woman that came up and sat next to her father. Sometimes, I worry about this girl; unless she had something to hold her down in reality, she's more than willing to drift off on her own. She even missed the call Silver Spikes gave her a few minutes ago.

"Maka", Spirit began, "I want you to meet someone"

THAT caught her attention.

She tuned her father in, taking in the fact that they weren't alone anymore. A young woman who looked in her early twenties was sitting with them at the table. She was beautiful, the younger Albarn had to admit. With long auburn hair, deep hazel eyes, and an overall feline grace, it was hard to deny her that.

She merely raised her eyebrows though. Her father never introduced her to anyone of his "acquaintances".

"This is Veronica Ross, she's from Death City's Gallery of Contemporary Art. Veronica, this is my daughter Maka."

Maka was getting more confused by the second, but shook hands with the woman regardless.

"Pleased to meet you Maka, your father talks about you all the time. How's school coming along? I heard you are the top of your faculty."

"I'm doing fine, thank you." About high time she learned to use her voice again.

"Now, Maka", He said, all business like, "Veronica and I were talking the other day, and she told me that she has a little problem"

Veronica picked up her cue "You see, the Gallery is hosting an event in August, showcasing the art of a few uprising young artist, but, one of the artists gave up his spot. So, I was wondering, would you be interested to take his place? I contacted your instructors and they spoke of you highly, and my talk with your father only fueled my desire to add you to event."

In my honest opinion, Maka needed a slap across the face to wake her from her stupor, but the cat meowing did the trick.

She quickly put the kitten back into the box and sat up straighter, facing the woman in front of her. The generous offer she was giving her almost sounded unbelievable. Her first gallery! And she's an undergraduate! Her mini version of herself that resides in her head was definitely doing some weird winning dance. That was unreal!

"It'll be a pleasure" she said, trying to use her most composed voice and not let her excitement get through.

"Then, I'd like you to come over to the Gallery on Thursday to sign you up and to explain the theme we're working on. Also, if you don't mind, I'd like a sample of your art. Do you have a sketchbook?"

Maka nodded.

"Then you can simply bring it along." She said, "Thank you, but I have to get going now. I'm rather late. I look forward to working with you Maka. Have a goodnight." And she stood up and walked away, leaving making the table exclusively Albarn-family-members only. VERY SILENT Albarn-family-members.

"So, what do you think?" Said Spirit, trying to make Maka talk again. He did it! He did something that will make his daughter love him again!

Too tongue-tied to express herself, Maka did something she hasn't done since she was 12; she hugged her father whole-heartedly.

Spirit was close to tears. Hell, even I am! If you knew the history those two have together, you'd be much more than teary eyed about this.

"Thank you, papa" She whispered.

"You're welcome, my dear."

So, yeah maybe the last 24 have been hell, but these three hours with her papa made up for all of it.

It's only when she got home that she noticed that Soul has been calling her none-stop. By then it was eleven pm and Maka was getting ready for bed.

Soul also had sent her a few messages:

'Hey, Maka! You there?'

'Maka, why aren't you answering your phone?'

'Did something happen?'

'Hello? Maka?'

His concern was rather clear, and it only strengthened the hold her crush has on her heart. She still hasn't come up with something to do with him on their day, but she figured she should at least reply to his messages.

'Yeah, sorry I didn't reply, I was rather busy'

The reply was almost instant:

'It's ok. Did you decide on what you want to do tomorrow?'

Tomorrow, Saturday, good weather. The idea just clicked in her head. They'll just hang out around the court while they play with the rest. That way, she won't be alone with him and worry about awkwardness; her friends would take his attention off her every now and then.

'I was thinking on hanging out at the court while the others are playing ball. That way there will be no misunderstandings'

Again, his reply came quickly;

'Fine by me, I'll see you at the court then'

'Goodnight'

'Goodnight Maka'

 **A/N: It's be nice if you guys told me what you think, or if you have any questions. PMs and reviews are always welcome!**

 **P.S: I've done a little mistake in the previous chapters that I plan of fixing. In chapter 4 I said that she had a living room and in chapter 5 I said that her apartment is a studio. I'm really sorry, I'll fix it soon.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Late Update! Yep, it seems like I've made a habit out of it. Hope the long chapter makes up for it though! I also fixed my little error from last time. Enjoy the chapter~**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater.**

It was a nice Saturday morning. You know, the day when you had had enough sleep, got up early and had pancakes or waffles for breakfast while the sun outside was shining, a cool breeze slightly ruffling the leaves and grass, and birds chirping in a harmony a composer would envy.

One of our leads was enjoying the early morning musical, while the other's dreams were invaded by it. On a normal day, their roles might have been reversed; the first being a more nocturnal being. However, the young Evans was enjoying his rare moment of peace and relaxation.

And rare it was. These four months have been hectic, what with having a fierce discussion with his parents about his university choice (His father wanted him to enroll in the university he had attended in Austria, his mother insisting that he should attend her alma mater in Italy. His brother suggested XX University in Death City, which used to be exclusively for fine arts but has expanded into a major university recently) then, moving out, the media hype, the ever growing fan base that had nothing better to do with their lives than follow him around, the hell known as mid-terms, the ENDLESS amount of assignments the professors gave them (no wonder all the number of actual graduates from this university is low, they put their students through a lot of shit to get grades, as expected from a Uni Wes recommended, why did he listen to him he has no friggin idea), and now dead week around the corner; he barely had a moment to himself. In fact, it was only last week that he actually got to get in contact with his brother.

Speaking of his brother, he should call him to see if he was still in Nevada. He had been preforming in a city not too far away from Death City last week and he had said that he was thinking about staying for a while since he didn't have anything planned until a few weeks later. Maybe later though. Today was going to be exclusively a day for Maka and him. Sure they won't be as alone as he would like, but he'd just have to deal with that. He didn't need to stir up more rumors or else she'll start avoiding him. THAT would be a royal fail.

And so Soul's thoughts went on and on.

Maka's head was more vacant, being asleep and all.

Well, not for too long though.

Getting attacked by your new pet isn't the best way to start a new sleepy day, is it? Ah, but what can I do about it?

It never ceases to amaze me that such a goodie two-shoes has that awful sailor mouth.

Getting out of bed, she picked up her still-nameless kitten off of her face and started preparing for her day. She still dreaded the unavoidable awkwardness with Soul but she wanted this to be over. All she had to do is get on good terms with the guy and then just let things be. He seemed to get along well with Black*Star and Kid so she didn't have to be that close to him, he can just hang out with them.

By the time the clock struck nine, both were headed to their destination. Arriving there, Maka found that she was the first to get there, so she sat and waited for Soul and the rest to arrive.

When Soul got there, he found Maka hunched over, her head in her hands and her elbows against her knees.

Day 8: Maka. Damn, eight might have just become his favourite number. Now he had another thing in common with Kid (apparently, they both like gothic architecture).

However, her body language burst his bubble.

Upon inquiring for the reason she seemed so down, he found out that no one else would be coming to play ball today. Something about the initiation being eight days only and Kid throwing a fit if it were otherwise.

He felt like serenading lady luck right then and there. Could his day get any better? Sure he felt a small stab in his gut when he deduced that she was upset that she didn't want to be alone with him but he tried his best to ignore it.

Seeing as they were alone and Maka being awful at basketball, Soul decided that it was about time she learned how to play. What better way to dispel awkwardness than a good workout?

Maka was relieved that Soul was acting as if nothing had happened a week ago. She had almost fried her brain trying to come up with ways to side-step it. It felt nice; practicing passing the ball with him, hitting the ground to a simple steady rhythm. It almost felt therapeutic after anxiety fit prior to his arrive.

In the meantime, Soul mulled over what his next move would be. He could keep on acting the cool mentor, using that as a chance to get a bit closer to her, both relationship- and friendship- wise. However, she seemed feisty, hot-blooded even; that kind of move wouldn't make her all starry-eyed. When did his goal change to making her fall head over heels for him? He had no idea, and, frankly, didn't give a damn. Maybe he should poke her, try to get her to talk, but not force her, he'd give her a wide berth. Women like that liked to feel in control. He should know, his mother was that kind of woman, too. Celestina Evans was a woman who didn't like to feel pressured into doing anything, he takes after her in that area.

Maybe he should do both; show off his awesome skills to earn cool points, make small talk with her, etc. however, while on equal grounds. His pride wouldn't let him act all meek to anyone.

I'd say that his pride took a jump out of a window on the 100th floor when he opened his mouth to talk. The idiot hadn't had water for a while, and his throat was too dry to talk, hence, the result was his voice cracking while he asked one of the world's lamest questions ever; to tell him more about herself.

"Eh? About myself?" she said, "Well, what do you want to know?"

The fact that she had said that so easily without hesitation, and that she was willing to share her life with him (he was exaggerating, but who can blame him? He'd been starved for a talk with her that he was almost willing to drop on the floor and roll if she were to ask it). So preoccupied was he that his mind came up with the most random question he had in store for her.

"Why pigtails?"

Two words described Maka perfectly: Weirded Out.

The dude had been off in lala land for a few seconds before he asked, and the best he could come up with was questioning her hairstyle choices? Was his brain wired wrong?

"Of all the things you could have asked, you go for _that_? Couldn't you ask a more normal question, like what my hobbies are, or what colour do I like or something?"

He was beyond uncool right now. Maybe he should go on the defensive.

"It was the first thing that came to my mind."

"Eh"

"Just tell me" he said, rolling his eyes.

"Okay, Okay, I'll tell you! It's nothing special, it's just that my mother used to prefer this hairstyle on me when I was a kid so I got used to it, is all."

"Oh"

"Ok, my turn. Let's just ask each other questions, it's easier that way."

He simply nodded in reply.

She wanted to ask a simple mundane question, but his question would make hers seem too lame. She didn't like to be one-upped on.

"Why angel wings?"

Soul was confused for a couple of seconds. Maka decided to elaborate.

"Why do you have a tattoo of angel wing on your back?"

"Oh, it's just something Wes and I got on my eighteenth birthday."

"Wes?"

"Yeah, Wes, my older brother."

"So, why angel wings?"

"It was Wes' idea. You know how a lot of people get tattoos that describe some part of them, right? He though it hilarious if we were to get tattoos of what we assumed the complete opposite of ourselves."

"And you went along with it?" Somehow it didn't seem like him to her, but then it seems he had been set or tearing down her mental image of him.

"Meh, Wes can be very convincing if coupled with a couple of beers" he shrugged, not really wanting to discuss how his brother had managed that feat, "Plus, he got one, too, so I wasn't the only one doing something stupid"

"Oh, and what did _he_ get then?"

"Oh, he ended up getting a pair of devil's wings, horned an' all, just so we would _match_ " He chuckled at the memory of his big bro acting like a five year old girl, squealing all about how _awesome_ it would be now that they match. Wes was a sight when he gets drunk; he'd fit right in in one of these funny night gag shows. Makes you wonder what he'd be like when he's high.

She laughed to herself at the mental image of someone resembling Soul with a big bad devil tattoo while telling his brother that they match. But, it was an interesting notion. He thought that angel wings represent his antithesis. Angels represent grace, peace, love, salvation, good, etc. and he sees himself as the opposite.

"So, like a bad guy?" She couldn't help but mutter to herself. He didn't catch it, and she's glad he didn't; she thinks he's a good guy, maybe he just doesn't realize that yet.

"My turn, now." He says. And they keep up like that; tossing questions to and fro ranging from plain to utterly idiotic. They talked about what's their favourite music genre (Soul blanched when she told him that she nurses a soft spot for Trance Fusion and Dubstep) about their hobbies (reading for Maka and listening to music for Soul), where they hail from (Soul was half Italian and quarter British and Maka was quarter Japanese), "Coffee or tea? Cats or dogs? Orange juice or milk?" (Soul chose coffee, neither, and milk while Maka preferred tea, cats, and orange juice) and so on and so forth.

So much for just getting along, Maka.

"So, I've been wondering" he said as she passed him the ball, "do you mind if showing me that drawing you did?" he caught it and turned to face the goal to shoot, avoiding her gaze, "It's just you seemed like you were so focused, so I want to see how it turned out, so . . ." he trailed off as the ball flew through the basket with a swoosh.

I swear, these guys have the funniest expressions. The way surprise was written all over her face was just too much.

"Well, sure. It's just that. . . I don't have my sketchbook on me right now, but I can show it to you later."

I've kept on giving you my words of wisdom before about the beloved Albarn whose story we tell, well I ought to give you at least one of these that doesn't scream bloody murder:

A flattered Maka is a _very_ kawaii Maka.

I think a certain male would agree with my statement, since he'd turned around to be met by this cute scene: Maka Albarn was toeing the ground with her left foot, her arms crossed behind her back, her hip leaning to the left, a smile on her face and a slight blush adorning her cheeks. Although Maka would claim that the blush wasn't there and that it was just the late afternoon light.

Another thing that Soul would agree with me on: Sunset colours suit her.

At first, he had decided that he won't go around ogling her, but seeing her like that made him want to stare. Her petite figure looked as delicate as daisy, her hair in the same pigtails from the other day. The beauty wasn't lost on him, but his eyes journeyed down her body in appreciation, taking in how her shirt fell to the side and showed some skin, how her shorts seemed to make her legs even longer. It didn't help that it was warm today, and there seemed to be some sweat on her neck.

Yep, he was ogling her. In the filthiest, rudest way ever.

But Soul would agree with Maka on the fact that it was just the sunset that made them look like they're blushing.

"Well, it was fun hanging out with you, Soul" said Maka, pulling him out of his frozen moment.

"You too"

She thought for a bit. Hanging out with him wasn't so bad, she had a lot of fun, even though it was basketball. And maybe it's her feelings speaking here, but it wouldn't harm to do that more. Hanging out, that is.

Well, there isn't a maybe there, but I'll let it slide.

"We should do this again sometime" He took the words right off her tongue.

"Yeah, we should." Then she added, "Are you free on Tuesday? Maybe we could go to Deathbucks and I can show you the drawing over some coffee."

"Yeah, that sounds great. I'm free after two . . ."

"Perfect! I'll see you there at two thirty." She cut him off, "Ah, but it's getting a bit late, so I have to get going now."

"Okay, see ya!"

"Later, Soul!" and she was off.

He could practically _hear_ Wes saying: _Wow, little brother, an awesome day together and a promise for another soon, niiice._

And he agrees, _niiiice_ indeed.

Three down and one to go. His checklist will be done with soon.

 **P.S: Thank you for sticking with me so far! I'd like to know if there is anyone out there who's willing to give me a hand in getting a picture for this fic. At first I wanted to draw it myself but seeing as I can't draw on a computer, things got complicated. If anyone's interested PM me.**

 **Thanks again!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: No excuse would ever make what I had done any less bad. I am sorry for not updating last week; educational issues, nothing horrifying. The chapter isn't as long as last time, so it doesn't even seem worth the wait for me. Nonetheless, I hope enjoy the chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater.**

On a chilly Tuesday afternoon, a certain 19-year-old was headed towards a café better known as Deathbucks. Fresh from the last lecture of the day, our lead was humming a tune as cheerfully as possible, each step beating to its rhythm.

Yep, Maka was happy.

It had nothing to do with the fact that she practically had a date with her crush, no! What could you possibly be insinuating?!

She was on a roll. She aced the assignment, she finished studying ahead for the finals, her kitty finally got a name; Blair (apparently it was one of the most famous names during 2013), and she scored herself a date with possibly the first guy to catch her attention for longer than a couple of days.

When she got there, she looked around and spotted him sitting in the corner that had the mushiest seat and most windows. She would know best; it's her favourite spot. Somehow, seeing him in that spot made her like it even more and she couldn't help the smile that slid onto her features.

What made her beam further was the fact that he was reading a book, obviously a fantasy if the intricate, majestic dragon on the cover told her anything. Yep, he keeps bulldozing her expectations.

When he finally noticed her, she was already standing next to him and craning her neck to read over his shoulder. She didn't understand a thing from what was being said in the book; it full of completely foreign words. It was after the third repeat of the word "magick" that she gave up.

And who would she happen to find staring at her while she struggled to grasp the story?

You guessed it! _Silver Spikes._ (Read the previous words with extra malice, please)

And yes, he did make fun of her for it. What else did you expect? An array of insults were tossed, each meant less than the one before it but nonetheless spot on. She was a helpless bookworm, and (this stays between us) definitely was small around the bust.

"That's not a way to treat a lady, you know! You have to be more delicate, especially with such things, you jerk!" she fumed. Why did her crush have to turn out to be such a dipshit?

"Delicate? What are you, a china doll?" he retorted.

Uh-huh, real smooth Soul; your date had just arrived and the first thing your nervous brain did was mock her. Although, he does deserve some credit for his creativity on the last one.

"Urgh, as soon as I start thinking you're a nice guy, you turn around and start shoving crap in my face." She huffed.

Maka would make a very good big bad wolf. If I were a pig, I'd have lost my house already.

"And look!" she gestured to the other clients-recently-turned-audience, "Everyone is staring at us!" she paused for a bit, taking in the incredulous glances people sent in their direction. "Why are they looking at us like that?"

Soul snorted, she sure is dense. "Oh no," he replied, "They're staring at you!"

"The hell d'you mean?" Honestly, she looked as confused as if she had been told that mars wasn't the fourth planet from the sun.

Another chuckle and he said, "You see, I don't exist."

"That can't be possible, bonehead."

"Maybe I'm your imaginary friend, and that you made me up." What was he getting at, he had no idea. He just wanted to talk to her, even about the lamest topics ever, imaginary friend theories included.

It's clear as day is in Nevada summer that he was joking. Surprisingly, she found herself playing along with his antics.

"Then, how'd you explain the fact that your face had been plastered all over Death City magazines for these past four months? How do you explain the fact that people can see us? And how are we in two different majors at school?"

"Maybe they're imaginary as well" he said cheekily.

"I made this whole thing up?!" she fake-gasped, "Well, that explains shit. Maybe my life isn't so shitty, I just have issues"

"Maybe this is just a nightmare and somewhere out there your body is lying comatose" He offered. That made her crack and she started giggling.

"That's it!" he hit his palm with his fist, "We're living in the matrix"

Giggling some more, she pulled a serious face and said "The world makes sense now"

He gave her a mischievous grin.

"Right? The screen writers must have been on to something when they made the movies"

That set them both on a fit, bodies shaking with buoyant laughter, and sides aching as they hunched over themselves.

Many others gave them they evil eye, but the waitress was enjoying the break in the anxious atmosphere that had settled on the café before the girl's arrival. Finals weren't far and everyone had come here to study. She usually didn't mind the study tidal waves but this one seemed particularly harsh. Just a few more minutes she consoled her conscience, I'll let the poor kids study as soon as they stop laughing, they need a break anyway, she mumbled to herself.

I was just sitting there and enjoying my ship setting sail.

I know, too much explanation for a secondary character, but she was standing right behind me, what's a narrator supposed to do other than give you the full experience?

So, back to the two dorks who are being all sorts of fluffy that I want to have them as topping on my hot chocolate.

The dweebs had ordered their drinks (both hot chocolate, Soul with extra marshmallows) and now they were having a VERY heated discussion (well, heated on one part only, Soul looked kind of disinterested).

"-to play for me! It's only fair, Silver Spikes!" she was complaining.

"You didn't say you wanted anything in- Wait, what? _Silver Spikes?_ That's the best you could do?" he said with outrage.

"Hark who's talking! The guy who gave me the nickname _tiny tits_." Her tone dripped with venom when she spoke the last two words.

"Look, just show me the drawing already. I have all the right to see what I _unknowingly_ had beenused as a model for" he held out his hand, waiting for her to hand him the sketchbook. She glared at him for a few seconds before her guilt won out. He was right, and her professor's complement still eats at her from time to time. Plus his looks played out for him.

Damned asshole.

"Fine" She relented, pulling out her sketchbook and flipping through the pages until she found what she was looking for. She had decided to show him the drawing she used for her assignment. The other drawing was just too, baring and quite frankly she was embarrassed to show him that the first time she laid eyes on him she saw him as this weird gothic rendition of a fallen angel. It's just NOT something you show to someone you had known for a week only.

Too bad for her, Soul was very curious about her art, so after he stared at the drawing for a while, he flipped to the next page which just happened to contain the drawing Maka was worried about.

Oopsie.

"Woah!" he whispered under his breath. Then his eyebrows furrowed. He went back to the figure drawing assignment and then back to the second one for a couple of times before he was sure; the two drawings were the same, except one was strictly to-the-book figure drawing and in the other his tattoo was rendered as real, life-size, battered wings sprouting from between his shoulder blades.

Maka was still fidgeting in her seat and trying not to look at him for a reaction, pretending to be enjoying her HUGE mug of hot chocolate while staring through the window. His eyes caught a little scribble at the bottom right corner of the page.

 _The Fallen, by Maka Albarn_

Check list complete.

 **A/N: That's a wrap! I'd like to thank the ones who had tried to help me with the cover photo for the story, and apologize for all the technical problems with my email that had caused a lot of inconvenience. I appreciate your help! Love you guys.**


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